Owner Gabe Grass now sends us a bottle from the first batch of one of GrassLands eventual year-round offerings: the Big Cypress IPA.

Gabe describes Big Cypress IPA as a combination of the hop forward west coast IPA style with the malt balance and floral range of the east coast IPA style. Here's what he's going for:

A smack-you-in-the-face IPA with tons of aroma and hop flavor that gets somewhat balanced by back-end malt sweetness... a unique and compelling IPA that can be be enjoyed throughout the year...

For those keeping score at home, Big Cypress IPA checks in at 7.5% ABV and 70 IBUs with generous additions of American citrus hops. This batch was brewed in June, bottled in July, and reviewed on October 14.

Overall: Gabe stated he was going for "hop flavor that gets somewhat balanced by back-end malt sweetness" and we feel he succeeded. That balance makes Big Cypress IPA an easy drinking IPA that we could definitely see drinking year-round.
4.0

Final Score: 3.85

Comments: We didn't find that Big Cypress IPA quite had the "smack-you-in-the-face" quality that Gabe was going for. Cranking the aroma and flavor up while keeping the balance would certainly result in an even better score.